Spinner display rack

ABSTRACT

A display rack comprising a horizontally movable trolley mounted on a track and a rotatable shelf mounted to the movable trolley. The track is mounted between a plurality of upright posts in such a manner that the trolley is horizontally movable between the posts. The track may be oriented so that the trolley moves either from side to side or between the back and front of the display. The shelf is mounted is secured to the trolley so that it is rotatable about a vertical axis that is disposed substantially at right angles to the direction of travel of the trolley. The shelf may be positioned either above or below the trolley and, depending upon the shelf&#39;s position, the product is displayed on the upper or lower surface of the shelf. The display shelf may therefore be moved horizontally relative to the upright posts and/or rotated to allow for easier access to the products displayed thereon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention generally relates to display systems for retail products.Specifically, the invention relates to a spinner display rack that ismounted on a sliding carriage that allows the display to be movedhorizontally from one position to another and that further is rotatableto allow consumers to easily access the products displayed thereon.

2. Background Information

Retailers are always seeking ways to maximize the display space thatthey have available. When setting up a display system, the retailer hasto consider the shape and size of any particular product to be displayedand whether a large number of different types of the same product needto be made available to the consumer. Electric outlets, for example, arepurely functional in nature and fairly small and, apart from theirfunctionality, they are basically identical. A consumer will thereforeonly need to select which of the different types of outlets they need,e.g., an outlet for a two-bladed plug versus an outlet for athree-bladed grounded plug. After that decision, the selection of theactual individual outlet for purchase is substantially irrelevant. Theretailer can therefore display one example of each of the differenttypes of electrical outlets side by side on a display board and simplykeep boxes of the various styles of outlets in close proximity to thedisplay.

Other products, however, present far more of a challenge because thebasis for their selection is aesthetic appeal. Consequently, theconsumer will wish to examine a large variety of examples of the sametype of product before making a decision to purchase. An example of thistype of product is lampshades. A lampshade is a decorative article and,as such, a consumer will wish to look at a wide range of styles, colorsand sizes of lampshades in order to find that one particular shade thatfits their needs. Consequently, the retailer has to display an entireline of products in a manner that is easy for the consumer to look at,yet at the same time does not take up a lot of display space. If thistype of product is simply positioned side-by-side on a display rack,then a lot of valuable display space is taken up. If, the retailerattempts to conserve display space and stack the productsone-behind-the-other on the shelf, then the consumer may not see thoseof the products which are placed further inwardly on the shelf.Additionally, consumers will tend to rearrange and redistribute theproducts as they attempt to reach more buried versions of the product.

There is therefore a need in the art for a display rack that enables aconsumer to quickly and easily access the products displayed thereon,but which also capitalizes on the amount of valuable display space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The device of the present invention is a display rack that includes ahorizontally movable trolley mounted on a track and a rotatable shelfmounted to the movable trolley. The track comprises a pair of rails thatmounted between spaced apart pairs of upright posts. The trolley isslidably engageable along the rails. Depending on the orientation of thetrack, the trolley can slide horizontally from one side of a displayrack to another, or the trolley can slide between the front and back ofthe display and may even be able to extend partially into the aisle. Theshelf is mounted on the trolley in such a manner that it is able torotate about a vertical axis that is disposed at right angles to thedirection of horizontal motion of the trolley. The shelf includes anupper surface onto which the products are placed. Alternatively, theshelf may include a plurality of hooks on a lower surface that allowproduct to be suspended therefrom. The shelf can therefore besimultaneously rotated and moved horizontally so that the consumer canmore easily access the products displayed thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments of the invention, illustrative of the bestmode in which applicant has contemplated applying the principles, areset forth in the following description and are shown in the drawings andare particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in theappended claims.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the spinner display in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the spinner display;

FIG. 3 is top view of the spinner display mounted on a carriageconnected between two shelving units;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the spinner display of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the spinner display of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the connection between the spinnerdisplay and the carriage through line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the connection between thecarriage and the shelving unit through line 7-7 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is side elevational view of the connection point of the carriagethrough line 8-8 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the connection between the displayrack and the carriage through line 9-9 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is a top view of the spinner rack moved on the carriage towardthe second shelving unit;

FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of the spinner display rack moved tothe second end of the carriage and display product thereon;

FIG. 12 shows a second embodiment of the spinner display rack inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an exploded view of the spinner display rack of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of the spinner display rack of FIG.12;

FIG. 15 is a front elevational view of the spinner display of FIG. 12;and

FIG. 16 is a side elevational view of the connection between the spinnerdisplay rack and the carriage through line 16-16 of FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-9, there is shown a display rack in accordance withthe present invention and generally indicated at 10. Rack 10 is designedto be mounted between four upright metal shelving posts 12 which aretypically used in large home-improvement type stores. Display rack 10includes a pair of spaced apart tracks 20 that are secured to posts 12,a horizontal trolley 14 mounted for slidable horizontal movement alongsaid tracks 20, and a spinner shelf 16 mounted on the trolley 14.Spinner shelf 16 may be disposed above or below trolley 14 and ismounted for rotational motion about an axis disposed at substantially atright angles to direction of travel of trolley 14 on tracks 20. Shelf 16is adapted to display products thereon.

Tracks 20 are secured to posts 12 in such an orientation as to ensurethe desired direction of motion of the trolley 14 is achieved. So, iftrolley 14 is to slide from side to side within the display rack 10,then tracks 20 are secured so as to be oriented substantially parallelto the front and back of the display rack. If trolley 14 is to slidebetween the front and back of the display rack 10, then tracks 20 aresecured so that they are disposed at right angles to the front and backof the rack 10. FIG. 1 illustrates a display rack 10 where the trolley14 is to slide from side to side within rack 10. Thus, a pair ofL-shaped brackets 18 extend between a front and a rear upright shelvingpost 12 on either side of the display. The right-hand front and rearposts have been removed to simplify the drawing. (If the trolley 14 wasto move between the front and back of the display, then the bracket 18 awould extend between the two front posts 12 and the bracket 18 b wouldextend between the two back posts 12.)

The pair of parallel, spaced apart tracks 20 are mounted betweenbrackets 18 a, 18 b. Tracks 20 can be mounted to brackets 18 in anysuitable manner, such as by way of S-shaped hangers 21 that run at leastpartially along the length bracket 18 or by more permanent means such asfasteners (not shown). Each track 20 includes a generally C-shaped guidechannel 22 and each guide channel 22 has a metal strengthening rod 23disposed therein.

The trolley 14 is a generally H-shaped and includes a pair of parallelspaced-apart supports 24 which extend between the spaced-apart tracks 20and are connected to each other by a crossbar 28. Each end of eachsupport 24 is provided with a roller 26 that is received within one ofthe opposing guide channels 22 in tracks 20. Rollers 26 mounted on theend of supports 24 are introduced into guide channels 22 through alignedapertures 36 in tracks 20. Rods 23, which are disposed in channels 22also act as spacers to rollers 26 by substantially preventing bolts 27from scraping along the interior surface 20 a of track 20. Trolley 14has a longitudinal axis of travel A-A (FIG. 1) which is substantiallyparallel to tracks 20 and trolley is therefore reciprocally movablealong the tracks 20 toward and away from brackets 18 and parallel to theaxis of travel A-A. Trolley 14 also includes at least one stop 34,disposed on one of supports 24 to cushion any impact trolley 14 may haveon brackets 18. Supports 24 a, 24 b and crossbar 28 therefore provide amovable unit that may be reciprocally moved along longitudinal axis A-Abetween brackets 18 a and 18 b.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, trolley 14is provided with a sleeve 30 that extends outwardly away from centralsupport 24 a (FIGS. 4 & 6) and is disposed substantially at right anglesthereto. Sleeve 30 is connected to central support 24 a and crossbar 28by a plurality of gussets 32 and preferably is substantially cylindricalin shape. Sleeve 30 also defines an axial bore 30 a therein.

Shelf 16 is connected to trolley 14 by way of a central post 38 which isslidably received within bore 30 a of sleeve 30. A first end 40 of post38 is inserted through an aperture 42 in shelf 16 and then into bore 30a of sleeve 30. First end 40 is secured within bore 30 a by aspring-biased detent 44 received through an aperture 46 in sleeve 30 andby a nut and bolt 48. Post 38 further includes a second end 50 having abearing 52 thereon. When display rack 10 is assembled, bearing 52 isdisposed below the lower surface 16 b of shelf 16 and shelf 16 istherefore essentially suspended from trolley 14. Shelf 15 is rotatableon bearing 52 and about the post's vertical axis B-B. As seen from FIG.5, the vertical axis B-B of post 38 lies substantially at right anglesto the longitudinal axis A-A of trolley 14. More than one spring biaseddetent 44 may be provided on post 38 and thus the length of post 38 andthe distance between shelf 16 and trolley 14 is adjustable.

FIGS. 10 & 11 show how trolley 14 and shelf 16 mounted thereon can movehorizontally between bracket 18 a and bracket 18 b along the trolley'slongitudinal axis A-A. This movement is accomplished by grasping shelf16 or central post 38 and sliding the same along tracks 20 either towardbracket 18 a or toward bracket 18 b. When trolley 14 is moved in a firstdirection, as indicated by arrow “C” in FIGS. 10 & 11, trolley 14 movesfrom proximate bracket 18 a toward bracket 18 b. Movement in thisdirection is arrested when stop 34 engages bracket 18 b. Trolley 14 maybe moved in the opposite direction to arrow “C”, thereby moving fromproximate bracket 18 b toward bracket 18 a. Movement in this directionis substantially arrested when rollers 26 a and support 24 a encounterbracket 18 a. The horizontal sliding motion allows the consumer or thestore assistant to slide shelf 16 from one side of a display to another.

It will be understood that tracks 20 may be mounted to posts in such amanner as to allow shelf 16 to slide partially into and out of a storeaisle. This orientation is not shown in the drawings. However, thismovement permits the shelf 16 to be moved at least partially into theaisle so that products 56 displayed on the shelf 16 may be more easilyaccessed by the consumer.

FIG. 11 illustrates that shelf 16 may also be rotated through 360° aboutthe vertical axis B-B of post 38. This motion allows the consumer torotate shelf 16 to access products 56 that may initially be held on thatpart of shelf 16 remote from the consumer. Shelf 16 can therefore bemoved horizontally along the longitudinal axis A-A of trolley 14 and/ormay be rotated about the vertical axis B-B of post 38 so as to positionshelf 16 in a manner that allows the consumer to more easily gain accessto products 56 thereon.

Because the shelf 16 is circular in shape, the shelf occupies ahorizontal display space generally equivalent to the diameter of theshelf 16. However, the actual space available on shelf 16 for display ofproducts 56 is equivalent to the circular area of the shelf. This is aconsiderably larger display space than the horizontal distance that theshelf 16 occupies. Furthermore, because shelf 16 is suspended, it ispossible for the store to display other products on a fixed shelfdisposed beneath the shelf 16, thereby maximizing the display space.

It will be understood that more than one shelf can be secured to themovable trolley 16 and that if two or more shelves are so secured, thateach shelf could be individually rotatable.

Referring to FIGS. 12-16 there is shown a second embodiment of a displayrack in accordance with the present invention and generally indicated at110. In rack 110, the L-brackets 118 are secured to a display surface(not shown) and trolley 114 again includes rollers 126 which engagetracks 120 and that enable trolley 114 to slide horizontally along thelongitudinal axis D-D of rack 110. Shelf 116 is mounted so as to bedisposed above trolley 114 with post 138 being inserted through aperture142 in collar 154 (FIG. 16). Bearing 152 allows shelf 116 to rotateabout the vertical axis E-E of post 138. Products (not shown) are placedon the upper surface 116 a of shelf 116. Shelf 116 can therefore behorizontally moved along the longitudinal axis of travel D-D of trolley114 and/or can be rotated about the vertical axis E-E of post 138 tomake the products on shelf 116 more accessible to the consumer. Theconsumer can move shelf 116 either from side to side, or into and out ofthe aisle in order to access products on the shelf. Furthermore, theycan rotate the shelf to gain access to products that are located towardthe rear of the display. The horizontal sliding motion and therotational motion can occur simultaneously.

It will be understood that while the shelves 16, 116 are shown as formedas a series of concentric metallic rings, the shelves can alternativelybe formed with a substantially solid upper or lower surface.Furthermore, it will be understood that while rollers are provided toallow the trolley to slide back and forth along the tracks, any othersuitable mechanism can be provided for this purpose.

It will also be understood that while the trolley is shown as mounted ona pair of spaced apart parallel tracks, it may alternatively be mountedfor slidable movement along only a single track without departing fromthe spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, while the bearing isshown as received within the aperture within the shelf, it will beunderstood that the bearing may alternatively be disposed on the trolleyend of the central post.

It will further be understood that while the preferred embodiment of theinvention discloses that products are displayed on an upper surface ofthe shelf, the shelf may be connected to the trolley in such a mannerthat it is positioned beneath the same. The lower surface of the shelfmay then be provided with hooks or other connectors upon which theproducts to be sold may be suspended. Furthermore, the shelf may besecured in such a manner that it can be used to display products on boththe upper and lower surfaces thereof.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to beimplied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because suchterms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadlyconstrued.

Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention are anexample and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown ordescribed.

1. A rack for displaying retail products; said rack comprising: a trackadapted to be mounted to a retail display; a trolley horizontallymovable along the track; and a shelf rotatably mounted on the trolley,said shelf being adapted to support a plurality of articles to bedisplayed thereon.
 2. The display rack as defined in claim 1, whereinthe track comprises: a first and a second bracket, each of said bracketsbeing adapted to be secured between a pair of upright posts of theretail display; a first and a second rail, each of said rails extendingbetween the first and second brackets and being disposed substantiallyat right angles thereto.
 3. The display rack as defined in claim 2,wherein the track further includes a first and second hanger, and saidfirst hanger secures the first rail to the first bracket; and saidsecond hanger secures the second rail to the second bracket.
 4. Thedisplay rack as defined in claim 3, wherein both of the first and secondbrackets are L-shaped in cross-section; and both of the first and secondhangers are substantially S-shaped in cross-section.
 5. The display rackas defined in claim 2, wherein each of said first and second rails issubstantially C-shaped and includes an interior channel, and whereinsaid channels open up toward each other.
 6. The display rack as definedin claim 5, wherein said trolley is operationally engageable in thechannels of said rails and is reciprocally movable therealong.
 7. Thedisplay rack as defined in claim 6, wherein the trolley comprises: afirst and a second support; each of the first and second supports havingopposing ends; a crossbar connected between the first and secondsupports; and a roller mounted on each of said ends of the first andsecond supports; and wherein the rollers are sized to be rotatablyreceived within the channels in the first and second rails of the track;whereby the trolley is reciprocally slidable along the track.
 8. Thedisplay rack as defined in claim 6, wherein the trolley further includesa stop mounted to one or both of said first and second supports, saidstop being adapted to engage one of said first and second brackets andto thereby limit movement of said trolley on the track.
 9. The displayrack as defined in claim 1, wherein the shelf is mounted to one of anupper and a lower surface of the trolley.
 10. The display rack asdefined in claim 7, further comprising a vertical post extending betweenthe trolley and the shelf; and wherein the post includes a verticallydisposed axis therethrough and wherein the shelf is rotatable around thevertical axis.
 11. The display rack as defined in claim 10, wherein thetrolley is slidable along the tracks in a direction substantially atright angles to the vertical axis of the post.
 12. The display rack asdefined in claim 10, wherein the vertical post comprises a first sectionthat extends outwardly away from the trolley and a second section thatextends outwardly away from the shelf; and wherein the first and secondsections are adjustably connected together.
 11. The display rack asdefined in claim 10, wherein the first section of the vertical post ismounted at right angles to the crossbar; and the second section of thevertical post is mounted at right angles to an upper surface of theshelf.
 12. The display rack as defined in claim 11, wherein the secondsection of the vertical post includes a bearing disposed between theshelf and the second section of the vertical post.
 13. The display rackas defined in claim 1, wherein the shelf is substantially circular inshape.
 14. The display rack as defined in claim 1, wherein the shelf issimultaneously horizontally slidable and rotatable about a verticalaxis.
 15. A display rack for displaying products thereon; said rackincluding a horizontal shelf adapted to support a plurality of productsthereon for display; said shelf being reciprocally rotatable in saidrack about a vertical axis and further being reciprocally movable insaid rack along a horizontal axis.
 16. The display rack as defined inclaim 15, wherein said rack has a front, a back and opposing sides; andwherein said shelf is reciprocally movable between the opposing sides ofthe rack.
 17. The display rack as defined in claim 15, wherein said rackhas a front, a back and opposing sides; and wherein said shelf isreciprocally movable along an axis that extends between said front andback of the rack; and wherein said shelf is slidable to a point where atleast a portion thereof is disposed in front of the front of the rack.18. The display rack as defined in claim 15, wherein the shelf issimultaneously slidable along the horizontal axis and rotatable aboutthe vertical axis.
 19. The display rack as defined in claim 15, whereinthe shelf is circular in shape.
 20. The display rack as defined in claim13, wherein the shelf includes an upper and lower surface and whereinthe shelf is adapted to display products on one or both of the upper andlower surfaces thereof.